Guatemalan presidential election, 1941

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Jorge Ubico y Castañeda’s presidential term was extended to 15 March 1949 by a Constituent Assembly on 11 September 1941. Assumed office 15 March 1943.

Jorge Ubico President of Guatemala

Jorge Ubico Castañeda, nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan dictator. A general in the Guatemalan army, he was elected to the presidency in 1931, in an election where he was the only candidate. He continued his predecessors' policies of giving massive concessions to the United Fruit Company and wealthy landowners, as well as supporting their harsh labor practices. Ubico has been described as "one of the most oppressive tyrants Guatemala has ever known" who compared himself to Adolf Hitler. He was removed by a pro-democracy uprising in 1944, which led to the ten-year Guatemalan Revolution.

Bibliography

Villagrán Kramer, Francisco. Biografía política de Guatemala: años de guerra y años de paz. FLACSO-Guatemala, 2004.

Political handbook of the world 1943. New York, 1944.

Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1. North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Edited by Dieter Nohlen. 2005.

Leonard, Thomas M. The United States and Central America, 1944-1949: perceptions of political dynamics. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. 1984.

Parker, Franklin D. The Central American republics. Westport: Greenwood Press. Reprint of 1964 original. 1981.

Taplin, Glen W. Middle American governors. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press. 1972.

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